Bogota Middle School Update

The Bogota Police Department advised the Bogota Middle School to call a Shelter in Place today as a precautionary measure due to an incident that occurred down the block from school on Palisade Avenue and East Fort Lee Road. A Shelter in Place allows for instruction to take place in the classroom while limiting movement throughout the rest of the school. The situation was resolved by the Bogota Police Department and once the Shelter in Place was lifted, students and staff were able to return to their regularly scheduled day. Our staff and students did an excellent job and at no point was anyone in the building in danger.

We have some activities coming up in the near future such as teacher/parent conferences and our annual Trunk or Treat. Please read below to be filled in on important details.

Progress reports are now open to parents. There is still a month to go before the first marking period ends so students still have time to improve.

Should you have any questions, please contact me.

Christopher Albiez
BMS Principal

The following students have won position in the BMS Student Council. Congratulations to all.

Angela Dai for President (7th grade)

Sophia Mesa for Vice President (6th grade)

Aarilyn Rivera for Secretary (6th grade)

Lucas Baucage for Historian (7th grade)

If you did not win this year, now is the time to prepare for a run in 2024!

The Jr. YAC sponsored an Ice cream Sundae Sale yesterday after school. Funds will be donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Great job!

In an effort to make connections between classroom lessons and school-wide initiatives, Mrs. Tomlinson’s 7th grade ELA classes watched the first half hour of a Scholastic Storyvoice read-aloud program hosted by Emmy Award-winner John Leguizamo. To wrap up Hispanic Heritage Month, this particular read-aloud and Q&A was with middle-grade and YA award-winning author, Christina Diaz Gonzalez. Ms. Gonzalez shared insight into her writing process and read a few pages from her latest middle-grade graphic novel, Invisible. She also spoke about the importance of telling the unique stories of Hispanic Americans, emphasizing the need for students from various Latinx cultural backgrounds to be able to see their experiences reflected in literature. Drawing from the inspiring stories and advice of this powerhouse Hispanic American author, students continued working on their own comic strip projects. These writing projects are also linked to what students learned about self and peer advocacy strategies in bullying situations during the Week of Respect. Final comic strips will be submitted and shared next week - so stay tuned!

If you would like to view the entire 90-minute Scholastic Storyvoice National Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration special, it can be viewed at this link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVGm7M4q0MU). This wonderful program will only be accessible for the next week. It features excerpts and Q&A segments from the following Hispanic American authors: Christina Diaz Gonzalez, Pam Muñoz Ryan, David Heredia, and Aida Salazar.

There are other live and recorded read-aloud programs through the Scholastic Storyvoice platform that you and your family may also be interested in viewing during the upcoming months. To learn more about Scholastic Storyvoice, click here (https://www.storyvoice.live/).”

We are fortunate to have wonderful custodians at BMS!

Bogota Middle School Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held on October 24, 25, and 26 this year. All three days will be one session school days for students.

Parent/Teacher Conference Schedule:

• Tuesday, October 24, evening conferences from 6:00 pm - 8:15 pm

• Wednesday, October 25, afternoon conferences from 1:30 pm - 3:45 pm

• Thursday, October 26, evening conferences from 6:00 pm - 8:15 pm

Teachers will be reaching out to parents in order to set up conferences.

The PTO will be hosting it's Trunk or Treat on Friday, October 27th, from 6:00pm to 8:00pm in the parking lot. Please click on the button below to donate for our Trunk or Treat.

BMS Spirit Wear is now available!!! Please click on the button below to be directed to the purchase form!

There will be PTO sponsored dress down day on Friday, October 20th. Please make sure your child is dressed appropriately. No ripped clothing.

Our Next PTO meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 28th, at 7:00pm in the Bogota Middle School Cafeteria. Parents will enter through the front door. We hope to see everyone there!!!!

If you are unable to come in person, you can join virtually at:

BMS PTO Meeting

Tuesday, November 28 · 7:00 – 8:00pm

Time zone: America/New_York

Google Meet joining info

Video call link: https://meet.google.com/fka-gfbc-imc

Or dial: ‪(US) +1 385-350-2074‬ PIN: ‪285 612 791‬#

More phone numbers: https://tel.meet/fka-gfbc-imc?pin=2844068758773

A few important reminders:

1) If your child is going to be absent, please call the school and leave your child's name, grade, homeroom teacher, and reason for absence.

2) Your child MUST be free of fever for 24 hours before returning to school.

3) SIX GRADE STUDENTS- As per New Jersey State Requirements, all 6th grade students must have the following vaccine:

• Meningococcal Vaccine- 1 does
• Tdap (given on or after 10th birthday)- 1 dose

4) Please encourage your child to eat before coming to school.

Should you have a question or concern, please contact me.

Thank you,

Nurse Mulder

If you need to purchase uniforms, please reach out to our vendor, Cover Stitches.

Cover Stitches is located at 568 54th Street, West New York, NJ 07093. The phone number is 201-348-6699. Click on the button at the bottom of the page to be taken to the Cover Stitches link. Should you have any questions about uniforms, please call the school or email me.

If you have not already completed your child's lunch form, please do so in a timely manner. Information on lunch forms and the Bogota Schools Lunch Program can be found by clicking on the button below.

Should you ever have a question or concern, please call or email me.

October 20: PTO sponsored dress down day

October 24, 25, and 26: Parent/Teacher conferences- one day sessions for students

October 27: Trunk or Treat in the parking lot

November 7: No school- Election Day
November 9 and 10: No school- NJEA conferences

November 14: Marking Period 1 ends
November 28: PTO Meeting